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NTU Management Review
Vol. 33 No. 2 Aug. 2023, 127-168
DOI:10.6226/NTUMR.202308_33(2).0004

How Entrepreneurial Marketing Facilitates Direct Sellers’
Entrepreneurial Process: A Dynamic Adjustment Perspective

創業行銷如何促進直銷商創業歷程：動態調整觀點

Wen-Chiung Chou, Department of Business Administration, Chung Yuan Christian University
周文瓊 / 中原大學企業管理學系
Hsiu-Ying Huang, Department of International Business, Feng Chia University
黃秀英 / 逢甲大學國際經營與貿易學系
Yi-Fang Chiang, Department of Cooperative Economics and Social Entrepreneurship, Feng
Chia University
江宜芳 / 逢甲大學合作經濟暨社會事業經營學系
Received 2020/8, Final revision received 2022/11

Abstract
This study intends to examine the entrepreneurial process of individual direct sellers from
the perspective of entrepreneurial marketing, and adopts the process method where events
in chronological order are scrutinized. This study collects data from triangular sources
and combines the focus group interviews with in-depth interviews to examine 14 direct
sellers selected from one domestic, and one foreign direct selling brand, respectively.
We develop a dynamic model of entrepreneurial marketing. The results show that two
relational management mechanisms are crucial to the successful transformation towards
the next entrepreneurial phase. The findings not only fill the academic gap in individual-
level direct-selling strategy, but also shed light on entrepreneurial marketing theory by
providing insights regarding how resources and initiatives are modified, which deepens
the understanding of its dynamicity. Moreover, this research extends the transaction
oriented Western studies on direct selling to the ‘quanxi’ (Relationship) oriented Eastern
context that especially values relational network. In practices, the findings could assist
direct sellers and interpersonal-oriented micro-entrepreneurs to develop personal business
tactics, and serve as references for direct selling companies to plan for training program of
Brand Affiliates (BA) and Brand Representatives (BR).

【Keywords】direct selling industry, direct seller, entrepreneurial process, entrepreneurial
marketing, process research

領域主編：蔡顯童教授

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